Protective casing for textiles by the yard



Aug. 14, 1945. w. POLGAR 2,382,332-

RROTECTIVE'CASING FOR TEXTILES BY ME YARD Filed Aug. 3'1, 1944 2 sheets shget l 7 I INVEN-TOIR.

WILL/AM- PoLaA/z I ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 14, 1945 PROTECTIVE A NG F0] THE YARD WilliamPolgar,

7 Application August 31, 1944; S rra 7 Claims. (01. 242--5 5.2 r l 'terial withiclosure meansof a novel characteruto This invention relates to: the art of storing 'fabrics consistingof various materials, and has particular reference. to improvements in, the

storing of textile fabrics to protect thesarne against fire, smoke, dust and other injuriouselements. 1

Accordingly, one object of the invention is to provide an improved safety container. which is fireproof, smokeproof and dustproof, and, is

adapted for housing textilehfabrics by theyard, stored therein compactlyspthat theiabric may be easilywithdrawnp and returned .into the container as by meansof, a rotating shaft or in. any

other suitable manner.

Another object, of the-inventionis the provision of a device of thetype mentioned having few and simple parts, adapted to be manufactured and assembled in an inexpensivemanner in quantity' production, and which is durable, convenient, re-

liable and eflicient to a highdegree in use, compact and neat in appearance, easy to install, and

which will remedy various drawbacks now exists ent in the handling or textiles'by the yard in retail establishments, well as in wholesale houses. 'I H K fl It is well known that according, to the present practice of selling textiles, by the} yard, it is customary to show the} buyer difierentcolorapat terns; styles and'qualities by removing rolls of textile fabrics from shelvesand' unrolling .substantial portions of the goodssuffi cient toafiord a good exhibit or drapewhereby the buyer can clearly visualize the enact, of the goods when applied for its intended use. The result is that often a large number of partially open rolls are piled on tables or. counters. Hence considerable space is consumed and. confusion occurs, and much work. is entailed in again roum gu the goods and returning therolls to their specified places on the shelves; Qftenthe goods are thus tion with improvements whereby the textile fabri'c is housed for safety against fire, smoke, dust and the like. i

More parti ularly, the safety off the assur'edby the provision of an. improved container made of metal or'cther fire resistant niaand arrangements 0f. parts, hereinafter described facilitate. the. showing of textile fabric and the closing of the container forthe safety of the goods; .aseries of such containers being mounted in a frame,inlsiiperposed relation .to eachother, each containerjhaving a rotatable shaft for' a different textile fabric whereby a large. number offabrics can beshown thencustomer by unrolling thel textiles and then, {protectively .enclosed by merely rotating. the, shafts, without. requiring removal of. the shafts from the fcontainers or removal ofthe latterfromthe frame",although of course the textiles in. the container's may be easily replaced by othersfof a different pattern if desired. I W i Other obi ects and advantages of, the invention will become apparent as the, specification procoedso i 3 With the aforesaid, objects view, the invention comprises. the, novel. features, combinations in 5 their preferred embodiments, pointed out. in

the 'subjoined claims, and illustrated in the annexed drawings iwher ein like gpartsare designated bythe, same reference. characters-throughout the severalv ie ws." H M In the drawings q Figure 1 is adiagrammatic view in iront elevationjwith partslremoved showing a a device embodying; the, invention, andrindicating different dependingfabricportions j Fig..2 isfa viewinsideelevation thereonQi Fig. 3 is anenlargedview of a containerfor a' textile vfabric,..exemplifying one of the elements of Figs. 1 and 2, accordingtoan embodimentiof the invention. c M1,

Figfle is a sectionallview thereoitakrin on line Fig. 5 is a lvie like-that otFig}. 4 but showing an opening positiqnof the container. here outi The advantagesof theuinventionas lined arebest realized when "allof. itsfeatures V and instrurnentalities} are cornbined but, useful embodiments may be produced involving less than thepwhole, v v H It willbe obvious'to those skilled in; the art to which the; invention appertains, that thelsame may be incorporated several different con:- structions. The accompanying drawings, there fore,- aresubn itted merely asshowing a preferred exemnlificationlof-the invention, 1 Referringin detail to the dr-awings, l0 denotes a device embodying the invention.] The same may comprise a frame having one or more vertical sefc tions such as H; each section being of rectangucompactness, each section may have one or two upright rows of the containers l8 as shown in Fig. 2, these being equally vertically spaced and being mounted by fitting their end portions in openings l9 in the walls I4, Ill. The containers I8 are normally stationary, but they may be re-' movably or permanently engaged'with the said;

walls in any suitable manner at the openings I9.

As will be more clearly apparent hereinafter; the

rows of container devices may be vertical. or-at an upwardly diverging angle as may best suit the handling of the textile fabrics in a series of the containers simultaneously, and so that each upper s'heetof fabric shall lie a little forwardly of the next lower fabric and avoid rubbing. between the f ri fl f lt'will be 'notedthat the container devices l8 jofFig. rare; shown in open positionexcept for jone'at the topflof the right hand column which i sjs hownclosed for illustration. Sections of textilej'fabricsii llare shown withdrawn so as to depend fromj their respective container devices l8,

matically.illustratedby different cross hatching.

Accordingly, the buyer can observe numerous fabrics at 'a glan'ce; such fabricsneed not be ren'ioved from the container devices, but may be u glledtoshowalarger piece of it if necessary.

eferringnow'moreparticularly' to Figs. 3, 4 and the container devices l8 are made of metal so as. to. afford fireproof, smokeproof and dust- "pr'oof' protectionffor the'fabrics. 'They may also be made of any oth'er fire resisting material. Each device ,l'8 comprises' a generally cylindrical casing2l which is horizontal and is formed with a bottom opening 22les s. than the length of the casing in o'rderto provideannularly continuous end portions 23 adapted to fit in the openings 19 the-different colors, patterns, etcgbein-g d agramcanf be turned; To this shaft 26 the fabric 29 is preferably connected at its inner end. in any suitable manner so thatthe' fabric can be'rolled and unrolledon the shaft without'becoming accidentally detached, especiall where the length of the fab'ric has become comparatively small. In any well known manner, the fabric can beattached directly to the shaft or by means of an intermediate piece of sheet material that is permanently'secured to the'shaft.

From the casing .2 I, along the longitudinal edges of the opening 22, there are the relatively fixed or stationary walls 29, 30 which maybe integral withthe' casing; Of these, the rear wall 29 is of considerable vertical length, while the front wall 39 is much shorter and is downwardly inclin d toward the re r wall; butboth Walls are of the same horizontal dimension. Hingedly connected at 3! tothe wall 30 is a panel 32, and hingedly connected .to the latterjat 33 is a panel 34. The

* vice l8.

- may be regarded as substantially closed by the elements 30, 32 and 34 may be considered as forming a generally fiexi ble wall of about the same length as the wall 29, and may be marginally flanged to. engage the wall 29 in the manner of a box-like structure. However, it suflices to provide side flanges 35 on the panel 32 and side flanges 36 as well as a bottom flange 31 on the panel 34. The flanges referred to are so arranged and shaped as to be adapted to receive and frictionally engage the adjaoent'portion of the wall 29 to thus form an enclosure for the section of the fabric 20 that depends from the casing de- Thespace between walls 30 and 29 closely adjacent frame walls 14, I5. A locking device may be provided to releasably interconnect the elements 29 and 34 to retain them in closed engagement. The depending fabric section is instantly visible upon swinging the panel 34 upwardly as shown in Fig. 5 and at the upper left inEig. 1. To thus retain the panel 34, any suitablel'releasable locking device may consist, for

instance of a hook, 38 connected to the casing 2| and beingengageable with an eye 39 on the panel 34. Ifit be desired to swing'upward and thus hold both panels 32, 34, in the manner of the,1atter, then a similar device may comprise a hook) conneotedto the casing 2i and engageable with an eye 4| on the panel 32, the hinges 33 permits instant showing of the fabric.

The device! i s'especially adapted to be built indifferent sizes',.an'd it"may be built as high .as desired, and can be used to show fabrics at opposite sides. Similarly, the containers may be made in different sizes according to the dimensionsof the relief cloth. For "containers which are spaced rather high, belts or other devices within easy reach may be provided to rotate the shafts 2B. Any :number of the containers may be mounted ina frame; e chrow having as many of the containers as. desired.

'It willbeunderstood that the different containers'mfaygbegiven consecutive or other serial numbersor may havethe stock or style numbers of the fabrics applie'dthereto or to the adjacent parts of the frame. Various otherllegends, trademarks, etc., ay be used for easy identification of thego'ods, an'dp'rices and other data may also be applied, a sjj washable,- gingham, velvet, plush linen'," sil k,fand so on. And it will be appreciated that while the metallic structure of the device may increase the cost thereof, the cost offirev insurance will be diminished.

Theinvention thu's provides a novel, improved means for the instantaneous showing and for the convenient handling and selling of textile fabrics by the yard, it being'merely'necessary to open the panels 34.. If the customer is interested in a certain fabric, 'the.same is. further unrolled, inspected, andja sectionthereof sold; or the portion so unrolled may be wound back on its shaft by tuming the corresponding handle 28. Before the store islocked up for the night, it is merely necessary'to close the panels 34 to protect the fabric against fire, smoke and dust. At all times, all the rolls of cloth are in their respective places, properly marked for instantaneous identification.

, pending fabric portion.

Nothing can be mislaid. The confused condition of piles of heavy rolls of cloth is avoided, the time and labor in moving the same to and from shelves and the danger of damaging the goods are all avoided. Each salesman can handle more customers and do so in a much more efficient and business-like manner than heretofore. The containers l8 are of such length as to receive a related series of different widths of textiles; for example, if intended for 36 inch fabric, the con-' tainers are preferably made 40 inches internally to be adapted to also receive 38 and 40 inch fabrics. Thus the containers may be said to be capable of receiving textiles of related graduated widths, which affords a substantial'advantage. I claim! 1. A device for protectively housing textile fabrics, including an elongated horizontal casing having an opening along the bottom thereof, a shaft adapted to carry a roll of fabric, said casing having end bearings for mounting said shaft, a handle external of the casing connected to said shaft for rotating the latter to wind and unwind said fabric, said shaft being so related to said opening that an unwound portion of the fabric is adapted to depend through saidopening, and

opposed walls parallel to and connected to said 1 casing along the edges of said opening, said walls depending downward and being adapted to house therebetween a portion of the fabric projecting from said opening, one of said walls comprising a portion upwardly movable to expose said de- 2. A device according to claim 1 including marginal flanges along one of said walls engageable with the other wall to provide an enclosure for a depending fabric portion. i l i 3. A device according to claim 1, including means for releasably locking the said movable wall portion in its upward position.

4. A device according to claim 1 wherein the said movable wall portion is upwardly movable to different elevations one of which is sufficient- 13 high to expose said opening for convenient access into the casing, and different locking means are provided to releasably support the movable wall portion'at said different elevations.

5. A device for protectively housing a fabric sample, including a generally cylindrical horizontal casing, the latter having end bearings therein for rotatably mounting a shaft for winding and unwinding said fabric, said casing havopening so that said walls depend therefrom to house a depending portion'of the fabric, one of said walls being fixed, the other wall having hingedly interconnected horizontal panels swingable upwardly and away from the companion wall to open position, one of the panels having marginal flanges releasably engageable with the companion wall to form an enclosure for the depending portion of the fabric when the panels ing a longitudinal bottom opening, a relatively narrow chute-like means comprising walls connected to the casing at opposite edges of said are in depending position, and supporting means for releasably causing one or more of the panels to be supported at will in said open position.

6. A device for protectively housing acontinuous roll of fabric to be sold by the yard, including an elongated horizontal casing having a longitudinal opening along the bottom thereof, a shaft to carry said roll of fabric, said shaft be ing journaled on the casing, said shaft being so related to said opening that an unwound portion of the fabric is adapted to depend for inspection through said opening, and opposed walls parallel to and connected to said casing along the edges of said opening, said walls depending downward ly and being adapted to house therebetween said depending portionof the fabric, one of said walls having a longitudinal portion movable to expose the depending fabric portion.

'7. A device according to claim 6 including means for mounting the, movable longitudinal portion in the different positions mentioned to cover the fabric or to expose the same.

V WILLIAM POLGAR. 

